CoStar reports 4Q earnings. (Technology Update).CoStar Group CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading provider of information services to commercial real estate professionals in the United States and the United Kingdom. CoStar's suite of services offers customers access via the Internet to the most comprehensive database of , Inc., the leading provider of information services See Information Systems. to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, achieved pro forma As a matter of form or for the sake of form. Used to describe accounting, financial, and other statements or conclusions based upon assumed or anticipated facts. The phrase pro forma profitability for the fourth quarter of 2001, the company announced. The pro forma net income for the fourth quarter of 2001, which excludes purchase amortization and the related income tax benefit, was $222,000, or $0.01 per share, an improvement over pro forma losses of $(6.5) million or $(0.42) per share in the fourth quarter of 2000. Revenues for the fourth quarter were $18.6 million, a $1.8 million increase when compared to the same period a year ago. As of Dec. 31,, the company's had $42, million in cash and short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. investments, an increase of $534,000 over the previous quarter end. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2001 were $72.5 million, an increase of 24% over 2000 revenues. Year 2000-2001 Quarterly Results ($'s in millions, except per share data) "We were committed to achieving pro forma profitability by the end of 2001 and we delivered," stated CoStar Group president & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Andrew C. Florance. "During 2001, the Company showed strong top line and earnings growth despite a severe downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. in commercial real estate, proving the viability of our business model." Key Achievements in 2001 include: * Achieved pro forma profitability: The Company reached pro forma profitability in the fourth quarter of 2001, reporting pro forma net income of $0.01 per share compared to a pro forma loss per share of $(0.42) in the fourth quarter of 2000. In the fourth quarter of 2001, CoStar achieved EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
* Introduction of CoStar Connect(tm): In March 2001, the Company officially launched CoStar Connect(tm), a service that licenses CoStar's technology and content to commercial real estate firms to market their exclusive for-lease and for-sale listings on their company Web site. * Expanded CoStar Advisory Products: Introduction of the CoStar Office Report in October 2001 marked the first time ever that CoStar has published its comprehensive building-specific data in aggregated form. * Successful migration of CoStar Tenant(r) to the Internet:In June 2001, CoStar introduced CoStar Tenant 4.0, its first web-enabled version of CoStar Tenant(r). * Signed multi-year contracts with major clients: CoStar completed multi-year, multi-market renewal agreements in 2001 with Grubb & Ellis Co., one of the largest national commercial real estate brokerage firms, and Julien J. Studley Inc., a leading national tenant representation brokerage. * Further development of database assets: In 2001, CoStar's databases were enhanced by the integration of data through organic growth, market expansion and the increasing penetration of CoStar Exchange(tm) and CoStar Connect(tm). Outlook for 2002: "Naturally, many of our customers have been affected by reduced transaction volume resulting from adverse market conditions over the past 12 to 18 months," Florance stated. "Net absorption of office space-a major indicator of our clients' health-declined by (137%) from 170 million square feet in 2000 to (63.1) million square feet in 2001. As economic conditions improve, we believe we will see a return to higher sequential quarterly growth." "Leasing activity has begun to increase measurably meas·ur·a·ble adj. 1. Possible to be measured: measurable depths. 2. Of distinguished importance; significant: a measurable figure in literature. in this current quarter," Florance added. "Reflecting that upswing Upswing An upward turn in a security's price after a period of falling prices. , we expect our revenues to grow approximately 10% to 12% in 2002. For the first quarter of 2002, we expect sequential revenue growth of 1% to 2%, and continued pro forma earnings pro forma earnings Income not necessarily calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. For example, a company might report pro forma earnings that exclude depreciation expense and nonrecurring expenses such as restructuring costs. of approximately $0.01. Pro forma results for the year are expected to improve from a loss of $(0.51) per share in 2001 to income of $0.10 a share in 2002." "Equally important, given the steps we took during the downturn, the infrastructure we now have in place is highly leverageable," Florance stated. "We believe we can more than double our revenue within the next four years solely by reaching new customers with our three core products, CoStar Property, Tenant and COMPs, in existing markets. Additional markets, either domestically or overseas, and new products are expected to provide us with additional upside Upside The potential dollar amount by which the market or a stock could rise. Notes: This is basically an educated guess on how high a stock could go in the near future. See also: Bull, Downside ." |
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